Ladies' Home Journal honors Springfield teacher

Kelly Wickham, a guidance dean at Lincoln Magnet School and former assistant principal at Lanphier High School, was recognized in the December issue of Ladies' Home Journal as one of “16 Women Who Made the World Happier This Year.”

The magazine wrote: "After convincing a local dealer to donate a car, she inspired 4,000 kids in three area high schools to improve their grades and attendance so they could qualify for a lottery. At the end of the school year, the winning ticket was drawn and one motivated student got a new Toyota Scion iQ."

It's an achievement that Wickham, 42, is proud of. Not every student is motivated by the prospect of attending college. Some need an extra incentive, she said.

What better way than offering a new car?

"I thought it was a great idea," said Jason Wind, principal at Southeast. "A car can be a huge incentive on what a kid is willing to do.

"Having it as part of an overall incentive program last year, we saw attendance improve and saw behavior improve."

Connecting with kids

Wickham came to the Springfield School District 20 years ago after being raised on Chicago's south side by a white mother and black father.

Her career here hasn't been the norm by any stretch. She's also appeared on "Oprah" to discuss problems within the educational system, she organized a worldwide purse drive for Lanphier students, and she writes a blog that attracts about 15,000 "hits" per day.

A few years back, students at Lanphier protested the administration's plan to move her from Lanphier to Jefferson Middle School. The transfer was dropped.

It's her background that is one of the reasons Wickham believes she can relate to many students in Springfield.

Page 2 of 2 - Her parents divorced around the same time she got pregnant at the age of 14. She had a second baby at the age of 15 that she gave up for adoption.

After growing up middle class, she went to living with her mother on food stamps and having to work to help pay the electric bill.

"Because I've lived at every stage, I think I'm able to connect with people in a way other people can't," Wickham said.

Mocha Momma

Wickham details many of her thoughts on race and education on her blog, mochamomma.com, named for her ethnicity and affinity for coffee.

She's a strong critic of the new statewide educational standards called Common Core, which is one reason she stepped down from being an assistant principal to become a guidance dean at Lincoln Magnet.

When she moved to Springfield, she said, she felt the community wasn't welcoming to outsiders. That eventually led her to start writing her blog.

"When I started writing online, the audience seemed more like me than the people I met in this town," Wickham said. "I don't make friends easily probably because I'm extremely opinionated."

Her strongest opinions center on how to best help kids, Wickham says. When she came across an article a few years back about a school district in Texas that donated a car each year to a student, she was hooked.

Surprisingly, getting the car wasn't an issue. She said she called up Mylas Copeland, general manager at Green Toyota, and he agreed within 20 minutes.

The pushback mostly came from fellow educators who didn't believe students should be rewarded for something they should be doing already — getting good grades and showing up for class.

She recalled one conversation where someone objected to the idea. When the two walked out of the meeting, Wickham said the person got into a Hummer and drove home.

"I remember thinking that is the epitome of irony," Wickham said.

The contest was approved with the support of then-Superintendent Walter Milton. Wickham says seeing Tinch win the car was one of the proudest moments of her career. She hopes to be able to do it again.